Krader appeared genuinely surprised after biting into Teuscher’s hefty, dark-chocolate truffle. "It’s very dense,” she said. “A powerhouse.” Krader didn’t take to the truffle— “not my favorite,” she said—but acknowledged that many people would. “I think this is for people who go big, who want the triple-decker burger—the highest pile of truffles on their pasta,” she said.
Owner and debonair chocolatier Giorgio Demarini took the skills he learned as a graphic designer and applied his artistic talent to something sweeter. Now he makes chocolates with his mother at Roselen, hand-painting playful designs to turn into delectable, unique masterpieces. His jungle-style flavor blends, like passion fruit lemongrass or lychee with geranium petals, can be found nowhere else. Try to catch a tasting class, where Demarini pairs his handcrafted Peruvian chocolates with various local libations. If timing isn’t right, pick up the perfect gift box with 16 carefully selected bonbons, a wine glass, and small bottle of Pisco Portón. Chocolate shop and tasting parlor in Lima, Peru.
This cozy shop/café takes an artistic approach to crafting decadent chocolates. Their hand-painted bonbons are a marvel to look at and taste: Black Forest Bacon Bites, Coconut Lime, and Strawberry Balsamic, among others. Truffles also reflect fun names and flavors like Yes, Yes, Yes (layers of white, milk and dark chocolate) and Bite Me (with a brownie ganache). Other fine confections include French macarons, toffees made with Texas pecans, and rich cakes and pastries.
This box contains two pieces of a sixteen-chocolate selection, making for a wide range of flavors and textures. Presentation is an important factor when it comes to good gourmet chocolate, and there are no corners cut in that regard with this ultimate collection. Both boxes are packaged in a way that makes them ready for gift-giving or any party occasion and really speaks to the high production standards of this chocolatier. Flavors range from more traditional milk chocolates to toffees and pralines. Most consumers very much enjoy the high-quality taste of these chocolates. Even at their worst, they were described as “pleasantly average.”
This SoHo chocolate shop and store showcases luxurious, single-origin chocolates and confections derived primarily from Criollo cacao beans. Its Signature Ganache Collection features edible works of art, while its rich Hot Chocolate Collection gets a kick from the popularity of its Aztec Hot Chocolate. Cacao Bar, its 15-seat café, offers a sweet respite for patrons to order in coffee, chocolate or a baked goodie.
If you’re looking for a delicious box of high-quality chocolates to give to your one-and-only this Valentine’s Day (or any other holiday, for that matter), the one we like the most is Recchiuti Confections's Black Box (16 pieces). We came to this conclusion after evaluating 11 brands, including our 2014 picks, and taking suggestions from Wirecutter commenters over the past year, as well as fellow Wirecutter staffers.
French Broad Chocolate is a must-try shop located in Asheville, North Carolina. It has chocolates that have won numerous awards at the International Chocolate Awards and Good Food Awards. The confections, which range from single-source bars to vegan lemongrass and ginger truffles, are made with local ingredients and sustainable, wholesome cacao beans.
For over 90 years, Esther Price Candies has been making the milkiest, most scrumptious chocolates in Ohio. Based out of Dayton, this local chain’s chocolate-covered caramels are their most popular product, but no trip to one of their seven locations across the state would be complete without picking up a box of their Buckeyes — it’s the most iconic dessert in Ohio, after all.

What’s fun about ordering cookies from Milk Jar is the ability to create a custom box and choose from 15 different flavors that include Banana Split, Birthday Cake, Rocky Road, and White Chocolate Raspberry. Or skip the pressure of choosing and just order the popular assorted box. Order as few as a half dozen ($15) to up to two dozen for online orders ($60). Need more than two dozen? Just give them a call.

You can't make a list of popular chocolate brands without including Mars. This incredibly famous worldwide brand is responsible for Snickers, Galaxy, Dove, M&M'S, Milky Way, Twix, 3 Musketeers, and Mars bars. Like Nestlé, Mars focuses on candy bars and confectioneries instead of plain chocolate products. But it definitely offers a combination of chocolate, nougat, caramel, or other ingredients that you won't be able to say no to.
A British Chocolate bar, Mars chocolate bars were first manufactured in England back in 1932 and was advertised as being made with the chocolate couverture by famous chocolate producing company ‘ Cadbury’. The Mars bars have high nutritional values packing in 2.2g of Protein, 8.5g of Fat and 35.3 g of carbs. These chocolates are basically generous helping of nougat and caramel richly covered in milk chocolate and wrapped in a trademark black wrapper with red-gold edged lettering.
Savoring the world’s finest artisanal chocolates is an experience, one that’s enhanced by knowing a bit about what you’re tasting, how it was made, and who made it. Accompanied with each chocolate shipment is In Pursuit of Chocolate, our monthly newsletter, which introduces you to the artisanal chocolatiers and the unique personalities behind each Gourmet Chocolate of the Month Club featured selection. You’ll receive:
Chocolate fits a lot of moods and personality types. There are the intensely dark, single-origin bars meant for connoisseurs, the whimsical cake pops at a kid’s birthday party and the mass-produced assorted chocolates that your average joe wouldn’t pass up. These Seattle Chocolate candy bars fall somewhere in between. They capture the kid-at-heart sentiment of cake pops combined with some of the same quality ingredients found in high-end chocolate bars.
I was introduced to Alegio Chocolate on a chocolate crawl and bought a selection to taste at home. The Raspberry had a good balance with strong raspberry and good chocolate working together. The Orange was similar but slightly milder. The Santa Domingo is an unusal combination of green olive, licorice, currants, and apricot. Those flavors actually stood to the side a bit to present the chocolate at center stage. The Espresso worked well with a slightly salted caramel. The Habeñero had a little bite to it, while the Honey was of course sweet. Throughout the pieces, distinct chocolate flavors were presented well.